I have one that tapes on to the back of the tank, but it came rolled up and has an indentation all the way through it which you can still see when I have taped it on - does any one have any bright ideas how to get them out?

I have had some heavy books on it for a week and I even tried ironing it with a towel over the top but still creases!

nbassis

04-18-2007 02:40 PM

I tired that and even putting tape on the whole back of the thing.= Do not bother with backgrounds. My advice to you is to find a nice color. IE a nice blue or a blacka dn spray paint the back of the tank. Do not paint, spray paint. That wya you will have a nice even back it it will not wrincle. Be careful when placing items on the back of your tank, as it can sratch the paint but this is the best way to have a back ground on your tank. This is the only thing i do with tanks now.

Trishfish

04-18-2007 08:25 PM

Do you think a hair dryer set to low to warm it up before using the books would help? I don't use backgrounds but maybe it will help.

fish_4_all

04-18-2007 11:26 PM

Steam bath maybe, could provide enough moisture and heat to get the kinks out. Maybe even a hot water bath although I would be concerned it might peal the clear coating off and ruin it.

Lonewolfblue

04-18-2007 11:47 PM

Why use a background? Why not paint it? If you want a solid color, you can use any solid color paint. Or if you want something interesting, look at some of the designer paints, in the same location at Lowe's and Home Depot where the spray can paints are. I used them on my tanks with great success.....

Wow! That textured rock spray paint stuff looks really cool!
I have also been having problems with my plastic background (it came with my tank,) so i think i will try this out =)
I work at lowes so i get a 10% discount, hehe.

My only concern is that i have heard certian chemicals can leech through the glass and poison the tank. For example, i was told never to use windex on the outside of the glass because it contains ammonia.
Anyone know about that?

Also, do you think this could work on a tank that is already full of fish? lol. this looks really cool but id hate to break my tank down just to impliment it.

Lonewolfblue

04-19-2007 01:24 AM

Won't hurt the tank at all. If the tank is empty, then no problems. If fish in there, then you need to move the filter so you can spray the back, and seal off the top, as well as the filter. The fish will do just fine. Also, the textured paint really doesn't have a lot of fumes, but I still recommend using a fan to blow any fumes away anyways, to be on the safe side, if doing it in the home. Also, that paint also splatters alot, so cover everything in sight, lol. Even stuff 10 feet away. I didn't, and ended up scrubbing off my entire entertainment system, lol. And my white walls, lol. But I'm single, so no worries there, LOL.

If empty, you can lay the tank on the front, and spray the back. If doing it in the upright position, it's more complicated, as you need to do it in thin layers (which is how I did mine). If you don't, it will run on the glass, as it's really smooth.

As for leeching through the glass, I use Windex all the time with no problems. Just don't spray it over the top of the tank so the mist gets in the water.

Figure on this, my 29G took 1 can, and got a 2nd which I partially used to cover any thin areas where light was getting through. And my 75G took 3 cans, 2 for the job and the 3rd to do any light areas.

ttmmm2001

04-19-2007 01:28 AM

Thanks for the advice wolf!

My tanks will be looking very cool thanks to you :D

No more crappy plastic back grounds.

Lonewolfblue

04-19-2007 01:31 AM

Another cool looking paint in my opinion is called Cappacino. It's an interesting brown color. Also, there's one called hammered gun metal. Just to warn you on that one, it doesn't look hammered on the glass side. Only on the outside. Through the glass on the inside it just looks like gun metal, which looks pretty cool as well.